BUSINESS ETHICS & Work Ethos

Business Ethics

The term is include two terms----

1. Business

2. Ethics

1. Business :–

The business is an activity which is primarily pursued with the object of earning profits. A business activity

involves production, exchange of goods and services to earn a living.

2. Ethics :–

Ethics is the discipline which deals with values relating to human conduct. Ethics is the science of human

conduct, a study of right and wrong in human relationships. Ethics concerns attempts to distinguish right

from wrong, good from bad and what constitutes desirable conduct in a particular set of circumstances.

Business ethics may be defined as moral principles or rules of behaviour which should govern the

conducting business enterprises. Business ethics are answered with what is right and what is wrong in the

behaviour of businessmen. It provides a code of conduct which can guide businessmen in performing their

jobs.

Business ethics refers to the application of ethics to business. To be more specific, business ethics to

business. To be more specific, business ethics is the study of good and evil, right and wrong and just and

unjust actions of businessmen. Business ethics may be defined as a set of moral standards which people

owning and managing business is expected to follow. These standards are mean to govern the conduct of

business persons.

The study of Business Ethics is important due to following reasons :–

i) Ethics Corresponds to Basic Human Needs :– It is a human trait that man desires to be ethical;

not only in his private life but also in his business affairs where, being a manager, he

knows his decisions may affect the lives of thousands of employees.

ii) Values Create Credibility with the Public :–A company perceived by the public to be ethically

and socially responsive will be honoured and respected even by those who have no intimate

knowledge of its actual working. There will be an instinctive prejudice in favour of its products,

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since people believe that the company offers value for money. Its public issues will attract an

immediate response.

iii) Values give Management Credibility with Employees :–Values are supposed to be a common

language to bring leaderships and its people together. Organizational ethics, when perceived by

employees as genuine, create common goals, values and language. The management has

credibility with its employees precisely because it has credibility with the public. Neither sound

business strategy, nor a generous compensation policy and fringe benefits can win employee

credibility, and perceived moral and social uprightness can.

iv) Values help Better Decision Making :–Another point of great importance is that an ethical

attitude helps the management make better decisions, i.e., decisions which are in the interest of

the public, their employees and the company’s own long term good, even though decision

making is slower. This is so because respect for ethics will force a management to take various

aspects - economical, social and ethical - in making decisions.

v) Ethics and Profit Ethics and Profit go Together :–A company which is inspired by ethical

conduct is also profitable one. Values driven companies are sure to be successful in the long run,

though in the short run, they may lose money.

vi) Law cannot Protect Society, Ethics can :Where law fails, ethics can succeed. An ethical

oriented management takes measure to prevent pollution and protect worker’s health even before

being mandated by law. The word ‘Value’ means the worth, merit, usefulness or importance of a

thing. A value is a belief on which a man acts by preference. Everyone does not hold the same

values. The value of a thing varies from person to person and it is more of a relative concept.

Factor affecting Business Ethics----

Business ethics is the outcome of several factors which are described below----

1. Cultural factors :– A Cultural value originates from religion, family system, heritage, education

system, government etc. These institutions prescribe what is good and bad behaviour. Hence,

cultural values affect the business ethics.

2. Economic Factors :– Generally, business ethics become more liberal with the industrial and

commercial growth. The level of economic growth and development influences the nature and level

of business ethics. For example, comparing one's product with competitive products in

advertisement is no longer considered unethical today.

3. Political Factor :– Business ethics is immensely influenced by the ideology of political party in the

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power. Since, the government can regulate the behaviour of businessmen through legislation. Hence,

businessman bas to follow various laws relating to working conditions, safety measures at work

place etc., in factories. There are other laws relating to maintenance of quality and fair prices,

prevention of pollution etc.

4. Social Factors :– Business is a part of society and social morality determines business morality.

Every society has its customs, traditions, beliefs and values. The ethical behaviour of businessman is

largely conditioned by his family, relatives, friends, religious beliefs. Hence, changes in social

values and norms cause changes in business ethics.

5. Organisational Factors :–Attitude of management, promotion policy, superior subordinate

relations, philosophy of promoters and other related factors in the organisation exercise influence on

ethical behaviour of its members. Thus, organisational factors affect the business ethics.

Work Ethos

Work Ethos or Work Culture refers to certain norms of behavior governing the conduct of workers involved

in work situations to achieve certain desired objectives. In other words work culture is the involvement of a

workman with work. The degree of one’s involvement impacts his performance to give high or low

productivity, high or low quality i.e. higher the degree of involvement, higher well be the productivity and

quality .Sometimes, work culture is also concerned with a worker’s loyalty and sense of belonging, by his

behaviour, to the organization. The worker should show his belonging, by his behaviour, to the

organization. Work Ethos at different levels of Management:–

Work ethos will be different at different levels. It can be defined at different levels as under:–

1. At Basic Level

2. At Top Level

1. At the Basic Level :–

Work ethos at the basic level is about:

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a. Discipline

b. To maintain punctuality.

c. Coming to work on time.

d. Behaving properly with superior, colleagues and sub ordinates.

e. Not wasting time during working hours.

f. Dignity in relating to peers, semorn and subordinates.

g. To do things those are morally good or right.

2. Top Level: -

At the top level, it is about commitment and accountability, feel responsible for the task assigned to him.

Some more points related to top level are:-

a) Work Culture :– Good work culture means one is fully devoted towards work and has high morale.

On the other hand, poor work culture results in high rate of wastage, poor quality, low productivity

and low morale.

b) Loyalty :– Work culture is also concerned with a workers loyalty and sense of belongingness to the

organization. One should protect the interest of the organization. No employee should make any

adverse comments about the organizations in the public.

c) Commitment and Responsibility :– Every man should work like a master, not like a slave. The

workers should take full responsibility for the task assigned to them and furthest efforts to achieve

what is expected from than.

d) Sense of Belongingness :–The worker should exhibit by his behaviour a sense of belongingness to

the organization. A feeling of respect should be there for the organization. One should maintain

good relationship with peers, sub ordinates and superiors and treat them well.

e) Protecting the interest of organization

f) No adverse comment about the organization in public. Reasons for poor work ethos/culture

The following factors are responsible for poor work culture in an business organization:–

1. Lack of commitment :– Lack of commitment refers to the disinterest shown by worker to the work.

This creates poor work culture in the organization and results in poor quality of product and lower

productivity. Dedication towards work should be visible by his behaviour.

2. Lack of discipline :– Discipline includes regularity, punctuality such as to come in time to work

place, to complete the task in given time, to follow rules and regulations if any, do not waste time

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during working hours etc. Hence, lack of discipline will create poor work culture which may cause

delay in operations.

3. Poor working condition :– Poor working conditions includes unhealthy working climate, lack of

pure drinking water, lack of ventilation, lack of canteen facilities, lack of safety devices and norms,

industrial pollution etc. These are the constituents of poor working conditions in an organization.

4. Political interference :– Most of the unions in the companies are affiliated to some political party.

Political leaders, sometimes, destroy the peace and harmony in the organization for the sake of

power and ego only. This is one of reasons that causes industrial conflict.

5. Decline in moral standard :– Moral standards provide tool for judging the moral value of a

decision. They provide the basis for deciding whether an act is right or wrong. If there is decline in

the moral standards, the culture of the work in an organization becomes poorer.

Dimension of the work ethos :–

Following are the other dimensions of work ethics :–

1. Protecting the interest of the organization :– Interest of organization must be on the top agenda of

employees. Their activities must focus on the protection of interest of the organization. Workers c an

protect the interest of their organization through higher productivity and quality of a product. They

should make their best efforts in this regard.

2. Work ethics through appropriate system :– Clear cut policies, rules and regulations, reward system

etc. are supportive in establishing work ethics. Clarity of these will make work-ethics more

purposeful.

3. Work ethics in terms of proper communication system :– Communication system is said to be life line of an organization. Proper communication channel will promote work ethics in the organization. Any misunderstanding, mistrust, suspicion etc. may be eliminated through communication system.

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